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Dear Newmarket parents, guardians, teachers, students, and community members,
I am writing to remind everyone that it is budget and town election season again.
The Newmarket School District Deliberative Session is on Saturday, January 31st, in the cafetorium of NJSHS. The Town Deliberative Session begins at 9:00 AM, and the School District session starts immediately after at 10:00 AM.
If you are looking for more information about the School District budget process and warrant, please keep reading this email or visit the School District website at https://www.newmarket.k12.nh.us/school-board/election
The filing period for community members interested in serving in an elected school district office is from January 21st to January 30th. The Town Clerks office is open all next week with extended hours on Wednesday until 6:00 PM and Friday until 5:00 PM.
Voting on the School District and Town warrants will be on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM in the Town Hall Auditorium.
The Newmarket School District Warrant is made up of seven articles. Article 1 is the election of School District Officers. There are four positions up for election as follows.
· One School District Moderator elected to a one-year term.
· One School District Clerk elected to a one-year term.
· One School District Treasurer elected to a one-year term.
· One School Board Member, elected to a three-year term.
Candidates for all School District positions will be announced at the deliberative session on January 31, 2026. Information about the candidates will be available on the School District website following the deliberative session.
Article 2 is the proposed Newmarket School District operating budget. The FY27 proposed budget is $30,547,370. This represents a 4.35% increase over FY26 or $1,272,979. If the proposed budget is defeated, the Default Budget is $30,471,845 which is $75,525 less the proposed budget. You can view the detailed narrative developed by the school administration to explain the School Board’s FY 2027 proposed budget at this link.
From the beginning of the budget development process the board and administration have been very aware of the need to keep increases to the operating budget modest to allow for flexibility in negotiating a new paraeducator contract and to absorb significant increases in employee healthcare costs. The intention from the start was to make sure that the total increase passed on to taxpayers was comparable to last few years when the total budget increase has ranged from 4.35% to 5.05%.
Article 3 is the proposed collective bargaining agreement with the Newmarket Support Staff Association. This proposed agreement represents 51 staff members and is 4-years in duration. The total new cost for year one of the contract is $134,043. This agreement gives a 4% cost of living adjustment each year, includes monetary support for advanced training and provides increased incentives for longevity.
Article 4 provides that in the event that Article 3 is defeated that the district can have one special meeting to address only the cost items of the proposed NSSA contract.
Article 5 asks voters to contribute $150,000 out of the year-end fund balance into the Insurance and Benefits Expendable Trust Fund. This fund has been depleted this year to deal with significant healthcare cost increases. If we don’t replenish this fund, we will have no cushion to absorb unexpected benefit costs next year. By taking this from the year-end fund balance there is no impact on taxation.
Article 6 asks the voters to raise and appropriate $100,000 to be added to the School Improvement Capital Reserve Fund. This fund supports the Newmarket School District Capital Improvement Plan. Our CIP maps out capital maintenance costs over the next 20 years. In current dollars, it is estimated that we will have $4.9 million in necessary maintenance costs through the year 2043. By putting aside money each year in this manner, the Newmarket Schools will be able to address the known capital maintenance needs without dramatic spikes in the budget process. Approval of this article would increase the tax rate by .06.
Article 7 is a non-budget related article that asks to increase the terms in office for Moderator, Clerk and Treasurer from 1 year to 2-year terms. This aligns school district terms of office more closely with the town.
If you have any questions about the proposed budget, please feel free to contact me. I’m happy to call you or set up a time to meet.
Sincerely,
Todd Allen
Superintendent of Schools